


His Favorite

by kelex



Category: Brimstone
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-20 21:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/891999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelex/pseuds/kelex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zeke picks his favorite place, and so does the Man upstairs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Favorite

Ezekiel Stone lived to be eighty-seven years old. He never remarried Rosalyn; she had made a new life for herself, had a new child with her new husband, and he chose not to interrupt her life in an attempt to regain his own.

Instead, he moved across the country, settled in California instead, and opened up his own detective agency. It wasn't a rich living, but Zeke liked it, and did it until he was too old to get out any longer, and then closed up shop, moved into an assisted living facility, and died one night as he lay in bed, reading.

The heart attack was swift, mostly painless, and Zeke didn't fight it. 

When he woke, he was surprised to find himself in a white room, with seemingly no ceiling and no discernable light source though the room was brightly lit.

There was a table, and a man dressed in white sitting at the table.

"You again."

The Angel smiled. "Me again. Please, Ezekiel, sit down." 

A chair that Ezekiel hadn't noticed before was sitting in front of him then, and he sat on the other side of the table. 

The Angel cracked open a briefcase, which amused him. "You're carrying a briefcase now?"

"Even Heaven has paperwork," he said with a smile. "Because of your situation, Ezekiel, you have a choice. Since you were a damned soul, you cannot enter Heaven. That's the down side. The up side is, you don't *have* to return to Hell either. We can recycle you, put you in a new body, and let you live your entire lifetime over again. You still won't be able to get into Heaven, but at least you'll have a little fun."

"Or?" Zeke had dealt with these beings too long to know that was the only choice.

The Angel frowned, at that. "Or you can go back to Hell, this time permanently."

Ezekiel rose from the chair then, because there wasn't even a choice this time. "Send me back to Hell."

The Angel frowned. "Are you certain about this?"

Zeke nodded. "Yes, I am. At least Hell wants me back. You guys haven't even given a consideration to the fact that I'm no longer damned, and that I lived a pretty good life, all things considered, and it's a definite step up that I didn't kill anybody. So, yeah, I'm certain. If you can't be bothered to let me into Heaven, then send me to Hell, because at least then I know what I'm getting into."

A door appeared in the white walls of the room as the Angel cleared the table of his paperwork and closed his briefcase unhappily. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Ezekiel."

Zeke walked over to the door, and rested his hand on the knob. "I'm not. I never understood why Lucifer might want out of your exclusive club. Now I know." He opened the door, and walked through the Gates of Hell.

Lucifer was leaning against the large, metallic gate. "I didn't expect to see you again." 

Zeke inclined his head, and looked down at himself. He was back in the same gritty gray sweatshirt and jacket, grimy jeans and grubby shirt that he'd been wearing the first time he'd been in Hell, and his hands were no longer spidered with varicose veins and liver spots. Instead, his skin was young again, and he looked up at Lucifer. "Heaven didn't want me, and I wasn't going to stay stuck on Earth forever," he offered by way of explanation. "These are new," he said, gesturing to the Gates.

Lucifer smiled. "Every man imagines what they'll look like differently. I must admit, I'm surprised that you chose great ornate gold. I figured it would have been a door in a dark alley." The Gates opened wide enough for Zeke to walk through. "I don't think anyone has ever walked through these of their own free will."

Zeke took four steps forward, carrying himself through the Gates and stopping on the other side, in Hell. "They have now." When he turned around, Lucifer was standing beside him, a long-fingered hand gently stroking his cheek before leaning in for a kiss. 

The Devil still tasted of heat and brimstone, and Zeke returned the soft kiss just as hungrily, until Lucifer pulled away and started leading him deeper into Hell. "You're one of us now," he murmured softly. "Here by a choice, and that choice has earned you damnation." 

Zeke just nodded. "Yeah. I know. But look at it this way. At least you've got somebody you know to spend the rest of eternity with."

Something like gratitude flared in Lucifer's eyes, though he didn't speak anything. "I'm beginning to understand why He didn't want you."

Zeke laughed at that. "Heaven doesn't want me, and Hell's afraid I'll take over. That's rich." Lucifer's velvet laugh joined Ezekiel's at that.

-=- 

The Angel looked up at his Boss when the sound of laughter came from Below. 

The Boss just gave a majestic smile, and turned His attention elsewhere, content that His favorite, though fallen, was well taken care of for the time being.


End file.
